Sunday, January 18, 2009

What makes your life exciting?

A couple years ago I was part of a group of regular chatters on Crosswalk.com. Like many online friends we all wanted an opportunity to meet and hang out face-to-face. There was just one problem -- Distance. You see, some of us were in different parts of California; others in the group were from Texas, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, and places in between. Meeting over coffee just wasn't practical.

Our opportunity to meet came when the gal from New York accepted an invitation to sing in a festival near Nashville, TN, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We were all excited for her! Not only is she realizing a long-time dream, it was also the perfect chance for some of us to finally hang out in person! Oh, if every day could be as exciting as the trip to Nashville. But time and money is a limited resource, and we can't do exciting things like that every day.

So how can we keep excitement, this feeling of lively and cheerful joy, in our lives?

Do what gives you joy! This might sound like an obvious answer. But how often do we actually participate in things that give us joy? If the sound of a child's laughter gives you joy, then do things that make kids giggle. If you love to do crafts, make time on a regular basis to do so. If you love pets but live in a small apartment, roll around with a friend's dogs until the dog hair is interwoven in your favorite shirt.

For me, one thing that gives me joy is spending time in a small group talking about what the Holy Spirit has revealed to us. I have recently connected with a group of wonderful women in a group called "Fuzzy Slippers" that shares that same joy.

The level of excitement in our lives does not have to be "extreme" because most of us don't live "extreme" lives. It's the little things that can give us the day-to-day excitement that we all long for.